Building structures



' Jan. 6, 1959' w. A. BALMAIN' 2,867,007 BUILDING STRUCTURES Filed Nov. 22 1954 JNVEA/fb M Z Z i am Andrew Ba Z imu'rz ATTO/ZAKE'YS 2,867,007 4 BUILDING-STRUCTURE 1 7 William Andrew Balmain, London, England, assignor to Uni-Seco (Overseas) Limited, London, England, a Britlsh company Application November 22, 1954, Serial No. 470,433

Claims priority, application Great Britain September 15, 1954 4 Claims. (Cl. 20-4) The present invention relates to building structures more particularly building structures of the type built from pre-fabrlcated building panels, and has for an object to provide an improved building structure of the type referred to.

The jointing post may comprise a laminated structure one layer of which serves the adjacent panels and another layer of which serves essentially as a thermally insulating layer and, for example, may comprise cork. Whilst it is convenient in most cases for purposes of manipulation for the jointing post when in laminated form for the laminations to be securedtogether this is not necessary and the laminations may, if desired, merely be superimposed one upon another, separate means being provided for maintaining them in position. According to a further feature of the invention a heat insulating wall constructed of thermally insulating prefabricated building panels secured together in aligned relation by means of joints according to the invention, is provided on the face of the wall exposed to the higher temperature with a vapour barrier which extends continuously over the whole of the said face.

Conveniently the said jointing post is in the form of an elongated laminated member which includes a layer of heat insulating material and a further layer of material serving to secure the panels together by means of fastening elements extending through the said further layer and engaging in the panels.

In addition the post may be provided with a still further layer of material similar to that of the facings of the panels to which the post is secured and upon which there is applied a vapour barrier e. g. aluminium foil secured thereto as by gluing. The said vapour barrier conveniently is applied after assembly of the jointing post and the panels so as to extend continuously from one panel to another but the post and the panels may each be provided with individual vapour barriers in which case further strips of metal foil are applied after assembly of the jointing posts and the panels to provide a continuously extending vapour barrier.

The jointing post according to the invention finds especial application in connection with building panels of the type described in the specification of my co-pending patent application No. 470,437 and the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying States Patent e Referring to the drawings, a wall structure comprises a pair of wall panels 1 and 2 secured together in vertically aligned relation by means of a jointing post 3. Each of the panels comprises a wooden frame 4 to which is secured an outer facing sheet 5 of asbestos cement and an inner facing sheet 6 of plaster board between which facing sheets there is provided a load bearing layer in the form of a core 7 of wood wool and cement bonded to the frame and to the outer facing sheet 5, and a thermally insulating layer 8 of slag wool.

The vertical frame members of each panel are cut away to form a longitudinally extending recess 9 opening inwardly from the inner face of the panels when the vertical frame members of two adjacent panels are placed in juxtaposition as shown in Figure l. The recess 9 is adapted to receive the post 3, the width of which is made such that the two frame members are firmly engaged against the sides of the post when in abutment. The frame members are provided each with a cut away portion .11 to provide a longitudinally extending recess on the outer face of the panel which is filled with a suitable mastic sealing compound 12.

The jointing post 3 is of laminated structure and comprises a wooden panel-engaging batten or strip 13, a strip 14 of granulated cork or like material which serves as a thermal insulation layer, and a facing strip 15 of plaster board, the batten 13 and strips 14 and 15 being secured together by means of a suitable cement to form a united laminated structure; alternatively the strips may be separately applied.

Apertures 16 extend through the plaster board layer 15 and the granulated cork layer 14 to permit screws 17 to be inserted through the wooden batten 13 into the vertical frame members of the respective panels thereby firmly to secure the panels together. The apertures 16 may be arranged in pairs and spaced lengthwise of the jointing post as shown in Figure 2, or they may be arranged in staggered relation alternately one on each side of the centre line of the post.

Plugs 18 are provided for closing the apertures 16 after the screws 17 have been driven home, each plug being a composite element having a granulated cork portion 19 and a plaster board portion 20 corresponding in axial length respectively with the thickness of the cork layer 14 and the plaster board layer 15 of the post 3.

After assembly of the panels and the jointing post, a vapour barrier is applied over the whole inner surface of the wall structure, the said barrier comprising paperbacked aluminium foil 21 applied to the plaster board surface of the panels and of the jointing strip by gluing. It is preferred that the foil be glued to the wall so that the paper-backing constitutes the interior surface of the wall and forms a foundation for applying interior decoration to the wall.

Instead of applying the vapour barrier after assembly of the wall as above described, the panels and the jointing post may each be provided with a layer of aluminium foil applied to the plaster board facing sheets 6 and to the plaster board layer 15 respectively. In such case it is necessary after assembly of the wall to apply a narrow strip of foil extending vertically at each side of the joint thereby to provide a vapour barrier extending continu ously from one panel, over the jointing post to the other panel.

What I claim is:

1. A thermally-insulating jointing post for securing.

together juxtaposed, abutting edge'portionsof adjacent prefabricated, thermally-insulating building panels comprising an elongated, laminated member consisting of a plurality of sections of comparable thickness including a first jointing layer for engaging the juxtaposed edge portion of said panels and adaptable for securing said panels thereto by fastening means inserted through said first layer into said juxtaposed edge portions, a second layer of a thermally-insulating material superposed on said first layer and a third facing layer superposed on said second layer, said second and third layers having selected spaced superposed portions thereof removed to permit the insertion of the said fastening means through the said first layer.

2. In a building structure comprising prefabricated, thermally-insulated building panels assembled in aligned relationship to form a Wall or ceiling of said structure, a jointing post for securingtogether juxtaposed, edge portions of adjacent panels, said jointing post comprising an elongated, laminated member formed by at least three layers of comparable thicknesses including a first layer for engaging said juxtaposed edge portions of said panels and adaptable for securing said panels thereto by fastening means inserted through said first layer into said panel edge portions, a second layer of thermally-insulating material superposed on said first layer and a third layer of facing material superposed on said second layer, said second and third layers having performed spaced apertures extending therethrough to permit the insertion of the fastening means ,to facilitate the securing of said panels to said first layer.

3. In combination with the jointing post as claimed in claim 2, the provision of composite plugs for closing the said apertures extending through the said second and third layers, each said composite plug comprising a first portion of a thermally-insulating material and a second portion of a facing material corresponding to the material of the third or facing layer of the jointing post, the said first and second portions extending axially of the plug a distance corresponding respectively to the thickness of the second and third layer of the jointing post.

4. A jointing post as claimed in claim 2 in which the said third layer has adhered to one face thereof a sheet of a water-impervious material to provide a vapor barrier for the jointing post.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS France May 5, 

